When Local Oversight of Amusement Park Rides Falls Short of the Mark

You might know that there’s no national standard for amusement ride safety and accident reporting in the United States. Our amusement park injury lawyers point out that the regulation and oversight of amusement ride safety is left to the discretion of individual U.S. states. And in some cases, notably the large Florida theme parks, the regulation, accident reporting, and ride safety oversight is left entirely to the parks themselves.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all oversee our own safety precautions and whether we abide by regulations or not? Would you report it every time you drove faster than the speed limit, disregarded a stop sign when clearly no one else was coming near the intersection, failed to give a proper turn signal, failed to get your car inspected on time, disregarded summer watering restrictions, or failed to properly separate all of your household recyclables? Be serious.

Well it looks like those charged with overseeing amusement ride safety and accident reporting might not be doing such a thorough job either. Investigative reporters at NBCDFW in Texas found, for instance, that while an amusement ride safety expert said that giving just the Texas Giant roller coaster a thorough safety check would take a full three days, a full 40 rides at Six Flags were inspected and photographed in just 6 days. The amusement park injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC note that one ride was apparently not accounted for at all in the inspection report. (Deanna Dewberry, nbcdfw.com, 8/20/12)

And in Pennsylvania, where monthly reports are required for rides each month that an amusement park is open, the state agency responsible for tracking compliance did not have ANY reports from 12 parks. And more than half of the state’s 117 amusement ride venues had failed to turn in some of their reports. But enforcement of ride safety reporting requirements is lacking. Amusement parks are rarely fined for failing to turn in required reports, and rides are hardly ever shut down. (Source: thetimes-tribune.com, 8/14/13)

The amusement park injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC caution that in many ways, riders are still on their own when it comes to amusement ride safety. Learn how to stay safe and reduce your risk of a roller coaster accident injury. Download our FREE REPORT.